For many people Ruby Turner will forever be associated with New Year’s Eve celebrations. Since 2007 she has been a key element of Jools Holland’s Hootenanny show on the BBC which heralds the start of a new year. For the rest of the year she is a regular performer with Jools and his Big Band.
But next Saturday, Ruby will be returning to Clitheroe Grand with her own band for a concert organised by Ribble Valley Jazz and Blues, a rare chance to catch one of the country’s great singers in an intimate setting. Ruby Turner (Picture: Caroline Harriott) “I’ve never stopped working with my own band,” said Ruby. “It’s just a question of juggling the diary which isn’t easy because Jools has a very busy diary.
” To be fair, so does Ruby, who as well as singing and songwriting has been involved in theatre and TV productions and appeared in a number of films. “I’m swapping hats all the time,” she said. “That can be a bit tiring but what it does is allow me to continue to be enthusiastic about things.
“I love theatre but when you’re in a production you are on stage saying the same lines every night. I like variety, I like to mix it up and my career allows me to do that. “I always want to step back to the music; to sing and to write.
Being part of the Big Band is a different vibe, it’s a unit with such power and to stand in front of that and sing is fantastic. But it’s also nice to be able to take it down, to create that intimate vibe which I can do with .